parallei

I know that Chez Panisse would not necesaarily (but it might!) be on the "pizza trail". If I remember correctly, it is not all that expensive, considering. I was just thinking of those folks that might be making a first trip to the BA.

Hope we can work a time frame out and that many will join the group.....

I concur with Craig, salty but not to much so. I am going from 2.5% ish to 2.8-2.9% ish next batch.Gene the dough at amano is almost identical (Below)I have pposted before. After they scarpe it out of the box they pinch the corners to round it out. They stretch them on the small side and the final stretch is done on the peel before going into oven. John

I love Liguria, but I have to admit, I only like it heated at home. Bought straight from them I find it lackluster (though the experience of buying it is always fun) but once home and either toasted or used for panini, yum. It really is incredible. And it is less than a block from Tony's, but the hours are reversed - you have to get to Liguria early, and Tony doesn't open until close to noon. If you're lucky, there's overlap, but Liguria often sells out and closes early...

Craig, keep us posted on your plans. We might be up for the wine country too, depending on where/when and hubby's schedule.

Vitoduke: Are you at Hendry? That's how I read your post at first, now I'm not sure... If so are you related to Heather? I'm the owner of Sweetpea and Justin, the horses that Heather leased during their stay. Either way, I'll second your recommendation for Hendry

scott123

Okay, I'm finally getting a free moment to jot down my thoughts on the Neapolitan side of the trip.

Before I get into it, two caveats.

1. While I've been researching Neapolitan pizza for years and understand a great deal of the science behind it, when it comes to actually eating Neapolitan pizza, I'm a bit of a noob. Prior to Thursday, I had only eaten Neapolitan pizza a couple times, and, honestly, hadn't been that impressed.

2. As everyone knows, I'm a NY slice guy to the core. Neapolitan pizza has always been more of an intellectual curiosity to me, rather than a passion. Thanks to two experiences on Thursday, I am now a bit more of a Neapolitan fan, but nothing could ever change the way I view pizza- through distinctly NY slice lenses.

Okay, here we go

I was blown away by Roberto's graciousness. For some reason, from watching videos, I thought he might be a little more aloof. He is not aloof whatsoever. He gave us a solid hour and a half of his time and shared an unbelievable wealth of knowledge with us. We never pressed him for a great amount of detail, but, in general, he was incredibly open about his process. I can sort of understand how pizzeria owners might see how holding their cards close to their chest protects their business, and I can also see how a teacher, in order to be successful, really should share the entire depth of his/her wisdom with their students, but, at the end of the day, when you run into masters of their craft that so willingly share their wisdom, it's very hard not to be incredibly impressed.

And I can't talk about the amazing Keste experience without giving a major shout out to Larry. Without his connection with Roberto, that would have been an entirely differently meal. Thank you, Larry.

As expected, Paulie was incredibly charming and endearing. What impresses most about Paulie isn't just his fanaticism with his own pizzeria, but his obsession with all pizzerias. I don't think anyone is a better ambassador for NY area pizza. Clueless tourists can watch Dom Demarco take 15 minutes to top a pizza all they want, but if anyone wants to meet a real NY pizza guy, make the trip to Greenpoint.

Just don't ask him about his fermentation time

As impressed as I was by Paulie the person, I was a tiny bit disappointed in the pizza. I know that he has a much larger place than Keste or Motorino, and this dictates the needs for different logistics, but liberally dusting an already formed skin with flour isn't a shortcut that I can stand behind. If Da Michele can make 1000 pizzas a day without having to go overboard with bench flour, Paulie can work out the logistics and not have to stack skins. The second nit was undercrust char. This is obviously a subjective area, but, as far as I was concerned, a couple of the pies were way past the pleasantly charred territory and just plain burnt. Don't get me wrong, it was still very good pizza, but it could have been better. I was expecting a 10 out of 10 and got 9.5.

As far as 10 out of 10 go... well, I mentioned having two transcendental experiences- these two pizzas were maybe 11s on a 10 point scale The lardo pizza at Keste and the brussels sprouts pizza at Motorino.

It's pork fat, and, let's face it, pork fat does rule, so anyone can put lard on a pizza and it should be pretty wonderful, but the fact is, Roberto did it- and it was blissful. It took something great (pork fat), put it on the perfect canvas and brought it to an even higher level. Crispy, salty, simple, delicate. Heaven!

The Motorino dough was a bit less salty and, from what I could tell, a bit more tender than Keste. I appreciate a slightly less salty dough, so that was a plus. The brussels sprout and pancetta topping was absolutely stunning. Mathieu Palombino spent some time at a restaurant with one Michelin star, and, I have to admit, the artistry shows.

Like I said, I'm not shouting my love for Neapolitan pizza from the rooftops, but, thanks to these two pizzas, my perspective has changed. I can say one thing for certain, my days of baking primarily plain or pepperoni pies are drawing to a close.

Hi Mike--- Napa has 3 restaurants that have a WFO. Ca'Momi, Oenotri, and I don't remember the name of the third. All three were horrible.The crust had no char at all. At all 3 restaurants the ovens hardly had a fire going. I told the waiter prior to ordering at Oenotri that the oven was not hot enough and he said they would heat it up for our pie. Our pie came out 5 minutes later looking the same, showing no difference from the pies around us. Prior to them opening they all had big reviews in the local paper about ovens from Italy, 00 flour, going to be certified. We have not been back to try them again. Our only experience having a "REAL" Neapolitan pie was at da Michele in Naples. Two pies and two beers were about 15 Euros, and the pies were fantastic. That's what I'm comparing our Napa Neapolitan pies to. We do go past Ca' Momi when we're downtown and the pies look same as the one we had.--- Mel

Like I said, I'm not shouting my love for Neapolitan pizza from the rooftops, but, thanks to these two pizzas, my perspective has changed. I can say one thing for certain, my days of baking primarily plain or pepperoni pies are drawing to a close.

As Obi-Wan said to Luke when he first felt the Force, "That's good. You have taken your first step into a larger world."

What a great thread. I had no idea this tour was taking place and briefly considered going to PG's last Thur (ended up at Roberta's instead).

FWIW, the sandwiches at Best are as good as the pies. The Italian Combo is quite possibly the perfect rendition of its type. And I'm a big fan of the pizza toppings. I realize the pickled vegetables aren't for everyone, but I'm a fan. And that they use pepperoni from Biellese says a lot.

What a great thread. I had no idea this tour was taking place and briefly considered going to PG's last Thur (ended up at Roberta's instead).

FWIW, the sandwiches at Best are as good as the pies. The Italian Combo is quite possibly the perfect rendition of its type. And I'm a big fan of the pizza toppings. I realize the pickled vegetables aren't for everyone, but I'm a fan. And that they use pepperoni from Biellese says a lot.

Thanks to everyone for posting the great photos as well.

Creeper,

Wish you would have seen this thread before and joined us. When I went to NY, before this recent trip, pizzablogger (Kelly) had told me in a PM to try Best Pizza and the sandwiches there, but I wanted to try all pizzas. This was my first visit to Best Pizza at the posts around Reply 11 http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,16573.msg161672.html#msg161672 I wish I could have a slice of that pizza now that I posted in those pictures.

Maybe I will get to try the sandwiches at Best Pizza the next time.

Thanks for your recommendations about the sandwiches at Best Pizza also!

This is a fantastic thread, thanks for posting! I'll be in NYC next week and plan to follow some of your steps, probably Motorino and Paulie Gee... actually can't wait to be there! Any recommendation about the best time to avoid an overcrowded place?